Method of playing a cat and bat, target game

ABSTRACT

A method of playing a game of snapping a cone-ended projectile (a “cat”) from a flat surface upwardly into the air and hitting it again using a generally flat-sided bat, the hit directing the cat as near as possible to arrive at a remote target. The cat is generally uniform in section at its center with at least one tapered end, and it may be of wood or of soft but fairly heavy, rubbery material or internally weighted so as not to cause injury if it hits a child or other person. Striking the cat downwardly with an edge of the bat on a tapered portion of an end pops the cat into the air to start the play. While the cat is in the air, spinning from the initial launch, it is hit again with the face of the bat and propelled toward the target 10-20 yards or more away from the launching point. The player who gets the cat first into, or closest to the center of, the target, wins, in a multi-player game. In one form of play, to minimize back-and-forth fetching, two launching points and two targets are used, so the cat or multiple cats are launched and hit back and forth between targets adjacent players situated adjacent separated targets and launch positions until a winner is declared.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is part of the active gaming field of hitting objects with a bat or club and directing them to land on or hit a specific target.

BACKGROUND OF THE ART

Cat and bat games are known as from U.S. Pat. No. 1,387,946 of 1921 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,532 of 1980. Both games use conical-ended cats, triggers, or flippers that are flipped into the air by striking either end portion downwardly with a bat. The '946 flipper device is square in cross-section at the center portion, with conical ends terminating in spherical protective tips. A baton or bat, flat in section and broadening outwardly along its length, is used to hit the “trigger” or “cat’ to a person who may catch it in a gloved hand. The '532 system uses a launching stand to hold the “flipper” at an elevated height until hit by a first downward stroke of a round-sectioned baton upon an exposed end of the projectile, and when it is popped into the air it is hit again in a second stroke by the round baton. The flying flipper is then to be caught by a fielder in a net on a paddle-like implement provided as part of the game.

Other games involving balls such as baseballs involve hitting a pitched or tossed ball toward a fixed target located some distance from the batter.

No game is known in which a cone-ended projectile is flipped into the air from a flat surface by striking downward onto an end of the projectile with an edge of a flat bat and then hitting it again specifically toward a target, with victory declared upon hitting the target and or with points being scored according to closeness of the projectile's landing or resting spot to the center of the target.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to provide an active game of skill, using simple, portable implements, that is engaging and fun for one, two, or more players of most any age 6 years and above to play in any suitable indoor or outdoor space. Implements needed are a “cat” and a bat of specific form, with any hard, generally flat launching surface and a designated target or landing area which can be a fabric or plastic disk of 4-6 foot diameter or a hoop placed on a grassy area or just a chalk circle on pavement, a sidewalk, decking, or the like. Play begins by placing the cat on the flat surface, as a board if a grassy, sand, or other soft area is being used, or directly on pavement, sidewalk, etc. A player stands adjacent the cat and chops downwardly with the edge of the bat onto a conical end of the cat, popping the cat into the air to waist level or higher. The bat is then swung generally horizontally or slightly upwardly to swat or hit the cat with a broad face of the bat toward the target. Since the cat is likely rotating rapidly about its central axis, end-over-end, after being hit on one end, the manner of contact between it and the bat is a matter of some luck. However, a proper swing of the bat and contact with the cat will generally propel the cat effectively toward the target. The player getting the cat onto or closest to the center of the target with the least number of launches and swings wins, or scores higher points than those whose cats take more swings to hit the target or which land farther from the center.

Where two or more people are playing the game, it is advantageous to have two or more launching sites and two or more targets, so that the cat or cats can be batted back and forth successively without each player chasing twice the distance of the target from the launching area. In this case the target areas are for instance adjacent the launching areas of the opposing players; indeed, triangular and square patterns of play can be envisioned if more than two players are present and the site conditions, such as a gymnasium, parking lot, field, beach, or other flat area, enable such play.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cat and a bat useful in playing the game of the present invention, not to scale.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first step in playing the game, where the player stands beside the cat, which is resting on a hard, generally flat surface, and chops downwardly with a fine edge of a bat onto a conical end of the cat, flipping the cat into the air while rotating the cat end over end.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second step in playing the game, where the player has risen up from swatting the cat and swings the bat generally horizontally and slightly upwardly to hit the cat with a broad side of the bat to propel it toward the target, which is placed some distance away on the ground.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative target to that shown in FIG. 3; comprising a hoop open at the center, into which the cat is targeted.

THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An active game of skill is played in a selected generally flat area, outdoors or indoors, using, first, a “cat” or projectile 10 with an enlarged central part 12 shown as cylindrical in this embodiment but which may be of any desired cross-section. At least one end 14 of the cat 10, but preferably both are tapered to preferably rounded or blunt points 16. The cat 10 may be of wood if the game is to be played by adults or of soft but heavy rubber, plastic, or the like if played by young children who may be injured if struck by the flying projectile; lightweight material may encapsulate a weight to give the cat heft without being made entirely of a single material, so long as it plays well by popping into the air when struck downwardly on its conical end against a flat surface. The cat in one embodiment is about 6 inches long, 1¼ inch in diameter, and has a 2-inch center section; it weighs about 5 ounces.

A bat 20 of a typical form to be used in the game has a handle 22 and a blade portion 24. It is preferably carved from a single piece of wood, which may be pine, maple, or oak depending on the needs of the games to be played. The harder the wood and the heavier the bat, the farther the cat will be sent when struck squarely by the bat during play of the game. The bat 20 may alternatively be made of solid or blow-molded plastic or other material strong enough to resist bending and/or breaking when used to strike the cat 10 with some force. The blade portion of the bat in one embodiment is about 25 inches long, with a 6-inch long handle. It is about 2 inches wide adjacent the handle, tapering outwardly to 3⅓ inches wide at the middle and continuing to about 3½ inches wide near the outer end. The handle is about 4 inches around, being preferably rectangular to give the batter an indication by feel of the orientation of the bat's edge and its broad blade surface.

A target 30 is an important part of the game of this invention. Rather than hitting the cat 10 anywhere within a large area, as in many ball games, where it may be caught by a fielder, in accordance with the principles of this invention the cat 10 is to be hit toward a specific target 30 or 40, in FIG. 3 or 4. The target is to be placed any selected distance from the launching point of the cat 10, but 10 to 20 yards may be optimal in most situations. The target disk 30 is made of any desired fabric or plastic sheet material for portability, and in one form is of about 6-feet in diameter and is flexible so that it can be folded or rolled up for storage when not being used and for portability when being carried to a playing field or other area. The disk form 30 may have concentric circles printed thereon, as a target, with higher points given, in one form of play, for a cat's landing or coming to rest in the center of the target rather than nearer to an outer edge. The hoop form 40 may be foldable or can be made in sections and fitted together for use, in any known manner that is convenient and of reasonable cost. In one form of play, the player who gets the first cat, or the highest number of cats of a selected number of tries, inside the hoop wins the game.

To play the game, a first player or batter places a cat 10 on its side on a generally flat, substantially horizontal, and reasonably hard surface S, as in FIG. 1. This may be pavement in a parking lot, concrete on a sidewalk, wood on a deck or boardwalk, or a board or similar surface (as a roofing slate, a kitchen cutting board, a steel drum lid, etc.), so long as the material provides a suitable launching place for the cat. The player takes a bat 20 and holds it with a narrow edge oriented downwardly. He or she then, with an eye toward the target 30 or 40, chops downwardly to strike the cat 10 on a tapered or conical portion of one of its ends 14. The cat 10 then rotates about the juncture between its tapered and center portions, causing the input momentum to pop the cat into the air on a trajectory as suggested, to waist height or higher.

Once the cat is popped into the air above the surface S, the player rises up from the position of FIG. 1 to that of FIG. 2. He or she then swings the bat 20 so as to hit the cat 10 with a broad side of the blade 24 and to propel the cat 10 toward the designated target 30 or 40. If the player misses the cat entirely or fails to take a swing, either a turn can be lost or repeated tries can be allowed and had until the cat is batted away. A plurality of cats can be so launched and batted successively by a single player, depending on local rules of the game and available implements. The first cat to hit the target, or the number of cats landing closest to the center of the target 30 or inside the hoop 40, after an agreed number of launches or hits, determines the winner of any given round of the game play.

If more than one player is involved in a game, it is convenient to have multiple sets of cats 10, bats 20, and targets 30 or 40. In this case, two players can hit cats 10 back and forth between launching surfaces S and targets 30 or 40 placed adjacent one another, the surface S of each placed near the target 30 or 40 of the other. Then, as one player launches and hits the cats 10 toward his or her target 30 or 40, the other player keeps score and then gathers the cats 10 and in turn launches and hits the cats back toward the other targets 30 or 40 near the first player's launching area S. Players must be careful to avoid hitting other players with, or being hit by, flying cats.

Indeed, a triangle, square, or circle of players can participate, launching and hitting cats from launching areas S to targets 30 and/or 40 in a larger area, each keeping score for the player hitting toward targets adjacent their own launching areas. So long as all players have about the same level of skill, so as not to send some of the players running far afield for errant cats from less-skilled players, this can be a very enjoyable pastime.

Many variations may be made in the invention as shown and its manner of use, without departing from the principles of the invention as described herein and/or as claimed hereafter as my invention. For instance, having bumps or grooves formed in the generally flat launching surface for positioning or restraining the cat from moving will not avoid use of the invention. Minor variations will not avoid practicing and use of the invention. 

1. A method of playing a cat and bat game with a target, using (1) a cat comprising an elongated projectile which is generally uniform in section at a longitudinal center portion thereof and has at least one of its opposite ends tapered toward an axis thereof, (2) a bat comprising a handle and an elongated, widened striking portion with a fine edge along at least one longitudinal portion thereof, and (3) a target toward which the cat is to be batted, the method comprising the steps, placing the target a selected distance from a portion of a fixed, generally hard and substantially flat launching surface; laying the cat on its side on said portion of said launching surface; striking a conical portion of the cat generally vertically downwardly, using the edge of the bat, and against the fixed surface, whereby to launch the cat into the air well above the surface; swatting the cat toward said target with a widened, broad side of the bat while the cat is in the air; and seeing if the cat hits, lands on, or comes close to the target.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the cat is formed of a heavy but soft and rubbery material so as to be generally safe for children's play.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the cat and bat are made of wood and the game is played by responsible persons.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the target is formed on a ground surface.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the target is a sheet of flexible material placed on the ground surface.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the target is a hoop laid on the ground surface.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of using a second flat surface portion spaced adjacent the first target and a second target spaced adjacent the first flat surface portion, whereby the cat is hit successively by first and second players, back and forth between the two targets by the method claimed.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein several cats are launched and swatted in succession from the flat surface portion toward the target.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein score is kept among a plurality of players, depending on how close to a center of the target each of said players swats the cat.
 10. A method of playing a cat and bat game having a defined target to which the cat is batted, the game using an elongated cat having at least one tapered end, a bat having a broad face and a fine edge, and a target spaced from a player initially having the cat and the bat, the game comprising the steps, placing the cat on a generally flat surface with the tapered end portion spaced above the surface; swinging the bat in a chopping motion and hitting the tapered end of the cat downwardly against the flat surface with the edge of the bat, flipping the cat into the air above the flat surface; swatting the cat with the broad surface of the bat toward the target; and seeing how close the cat comes to a center of the target.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of using a plurality of cats and hitting each of them successively from the flat surface into the air and then toward the target.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein at least two flat surface portions and at least two targets are used by at least two players of the game, each target being spaced from an opposing player's flat launching surface and the cat being alternately or successively launched and swatted by each player in turn toward a selected distant target. 